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Book Review : Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes

Olivia Twisted is a quirky retelling of Oliver Twist and while I enjoyed it, it didn’t wow me like I wanted it to. I love the movie version and the musical so while I have never read the Dickens novel, I’m very familiar with and love the story.

He tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his, his thumb brushing lightly across my lips. I close my eyes. I know Z is trouble. I know that being with him is going to get me into trouble. I don’t care.

At least at this moment, I don’t care.

Tossed from foster home to foster home, Olivia’s seen a lot in her sixteen years. She’s hardened, sure, though mostly just wants to fly under the radar until graduation. But her natural ability with computers catches the eye of Z, a mysterious guy at her new school. Soon, Z has brought Liv into his team of hacker elite—break into a few bank accounts, and voila, he drives a motorcycle. Follow his lead, and Olivia might even be able to escape from her oppressive foster parents. As Olivia and Z grow closer, though, so does the watchful eye of Bill Sykes, Z’s boss. And he’s got bigger plans for Liv…

Z

I can picture Liv’s face: wide-eyed, trusting. Her smooth lips that taste like strawberry Fanta.

It was just a kiss. That’s all. She’s just like any other girl.

Except that she’s not.

Thanks to Z, Olivia’s about to get twisted

My Recap :

Olivia has been thrown from foster family to foster family since she was young. Now living with a new family in a new town, she makes a new friend Z (nicknamed Dodger) who tries to manipulate her into joining his hacking circle.

My Thoughts:

I loved the idea that Dodger’s gang were computer hackers and not pickpockets. It seems like a good twist (sorry!), a clever way to modernise the story and the details of the computer hacking were eye opening. I have no idea how accurate the details are but it is fun to read about and will make me even more password security aware in the future.

I liked Olivia’s character; she isn’t as trusting or as naive as the original Oliver and this feels authentic given her volatile background. Z is also a likeable character and the chemistry between the two of them really works.

Nancy and Bill are both present in the book but Fagin is missing! I love Fagin so was disappointed by his absence. His role is partly taken over by Z and partly by Nancy but the lack of such a huge character had a bit of a negative effect on me. Nancy and Bill felt very authentic and add a dangerous vibe to the story.

I found the pace of the book a bit slow. Once I had figured out who everyone was and how it all related to the original book, it lost some of its novelty for me. I still liked it but wasn’t fired up with enthusiasm to pick it back up again.

There are quotes at the start of every chapter – some from the film and some from the Dicken’s story. What I learned from these is that I have zero interest in reading Oliver Twist as they are so wordy and I struggled to make sense of them.

Overall I enjoyed the novelty of the retelling, the hacking was cool and the romance was entertaining but the pacing left me a bit under whelmed.

Who should read Olivia Twisted?

If you like retellings then maybe you should give this one a shot. It is also worth reading just to see how easy computer hacking can be if you are a bit naive with your passwords and security questions!

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

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